The true story of four North Perth residents and their quest to dine in every restaurant on Beaufort Street.

24 March 2008

Magic Pizza

Magic Pizza is anything but magic. Well, maybe that's not quite true, there must be some magic involved to keep the place operational because it's certainly not the pizza.

The Bloggers had a busy week but found time to fit in a takeaway-style component of the Beaufort Street Challenge, which is why we skipped Jessie's Curry Kitchen and Cafe and went on to the next venue, Magic Pizza. We will get to Jessie's next week. So, BITO and The Brains put their hands up to do the pizza run. They were immediately struck by the thoughtfulness of the decor - a delightful combination of novelty souvenir USA number plates (you know the ones, the New York number plate that says I LOVE NY etc) and pictures of The King.

They were also struck by the menu - even the Deliberator would not have found choosing a pizza very difficult here, there were only about 8 to chose from. The Bloggers don't necessarily think a limited menu is ever a problem though - because if the food is great, a lack of choice becomes irrelevant. But the food was terrible. More on that in a second.

The fellow behind the counter was very friendly, he was happy to provide some advice on our selections and got down to the business of cooking the pizzas very quickly. When they were finished, he even walked them outside where BITO and The Brains were sitting taking in the Beaufort Street vista.

The pizzas were still hot by the time we got them home, but disappointingly they all looked identical. It was a moment of déjà vu when we opened up the boxes and wondered how we had yet again managed to order 3 cheese flavoured pizzas (see our review of the Civic Hotel to relive our first fromage free-for-all fiasco). Disenchanted, but still hopeful, we hopped in and consumed what we could of our dinner. It was not as though the pizzas were horrible, it was more that they weren't very good. Cheap toppings, too much cheese, a salt overload and unexceptional bases came together for a truly uninspiring meal.

While BITO and The Brains quickly arrived at their decision that the pizzas were not getting the Bloggers’ thumbs up, it took The Sponge 6 or 7 slices and a 2 litre bottle of Fanta before declaring them average. The rest of the night was spent arguing about who would keep the leftovers (they went in the bin) and watching Goldmember. So really, it wasn’t all bad.

In summary:

Service: Pleasant and helpful.

Food: Well below par, particularly when you consider the plethora of wonderful pizza choices in the area (think Stones Pizza and Marcos).

Ambience: Like a roadside diner in a two bit town in southern USA during the depression, but with less ambience.

Highlight: The service. And the fact that Goldmember was on TV.

Lowlight: Poorly executed and unimaginative pizza.

Rating: 1 slice of cheap salami out of 5.

Will we be back? Nup.

Details: Call them on (08) 9370 1818. The cost was a reasonable $17 for a family sized pizza.

Coming up: This time we will go to Jessie's Curry Kitchen and Cafe. We promise.

4 comments:

grrlfrommars
said...

Too bad you'd already gone so far down Beaufort Street, otherwise you would have been better off popping into Inglewood IGA and picking up some frozen McCains delicacies. I believe they have distinct varieties such as 'Ham & Pineapple', 'Supreme', and 'Meatlovers'.

Can't wait to read the review for Inglewood Pizza which should be coming up shortly. I would have thought that two pizza shops within such close proximity to each other would create a healthy competition in regards to standards. Looks like there is nothing to compete with!

Hi grrlfrommars, we think the owners of Magic Pizza must have turned to McCains for their pizza making inspiration, and yet they still managed to prepare a product that was worse than a frozen pizza.

We have heard better things about Inglewood Pizza than we had Magic Pizza, but we have never been before. We're hoping the competition has helped Inglewood Pizza's product in some respect, because we'd be devastated if we had to chow our way through another 3 flavourless, cheese overloaded pizzas.

Beaufort Street Bloggers

It has been a long held tradition for the Beaufort Street Bloggers to eat together on a Thursday night. After all, Thursday is the new Friday. To spice up Thursday night dining in 2008, a unanimous decision was made to eat at every restaurant on Beaufort Street, starting from the top of Inglewood and working our way down to the city. There will undoubtedly be some lowlights (think Dial-A-Chop-Stix and the Civic Hotel), but there is a whole bunch of good food around this part of town. The rules are simple, to qualify, a restaurant must have room for us to sit in and be open on Thursday nights. This blog documents the results of this lofty challenge. If you want to contact the bloggers, please email beaufortstreetbloggers [at] gmail [dot] com

So who are the Beaufort Street Bloggers?

The Deliberator

World renowned (he has excessively deliberated over menus the world over, to the chagrin of many a waiter), the Deliberator takes pride in his ability to frustrate even the most tolerant of wait staff, let alone his long suffering fellow Beaufort Street Bloggers.

Reflecting on himself (in a positive light as always), the Deliberator lists his favourite past times as pork belly, champagne cocktails and falling asleep on other people’s couches. Upon review of what lies ahead of him in the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge, the Deliberator remained focussed on the year ahead, stating only that he was glad there were going to be a few budget Thursday nights ahead, as he has already committed 3 months wages to the purchase of a ring from Tiffanys for a certain pixie haired blonde within the team.

Despite still harbouring a love of vegemite on toast from his university days, the Deliberator prides himself on his culinary prowess and exacting standards. He has declared 2008 the year he not only finally drives a waiter to suicide and/or mass murder, but also establishes himself as the West’s answer to the Lygon Street gangster, tipping that before the year is out the name “Deliberator” will be spoken with hushed reverence in cafes and restaurants the length and breadth of Beaufort St.

The Brains

Aptly named because she is indeed the “brains" behind the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge and also, because sometimes she just seems so smart the entire team prefers that she orders for them, the Brains is a complex character – lawyer by day, avid restaurant reviewer by night and frustrated interior decorator for pretty much all of the time in between.

The 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge came to the Brains whilst on her 7th glass of champagne just after Christmas 2007. Throwing caution to the wind, she drained her glass, slammed the table and declared to all and sundry in a rather agitated voice “2008….2008 we’re doing it. We’re starting at the top and we’re not stopping til the end!” Upon seeing the puzzled stares of those around her , the Brains went on to explain in more detail that what she meant was that 2008 was the year she and her fellow diners would begin at the top of Beaufort Street and eat at every eating establishment before the year was out. Needless to say her fellow team members were yet again left reeling at the sheer genius that is “The Brains”.

The Brains is also the long suffering partner of the Deliberator, having accompanied him on his most recent overseas expeditions to restaurants throughout Europe and Asia. Amenable in nature and blessed with the patience of a saint, the Brains only has to see a Tiffany & Co. advertisement to remind herself that one day, one day very soon, it will all be worthwhile….

Bito (Bun in the Oven)

Reformed party girl whose previous mantra was “Thursday is the new Friday”, BITO is currently at the 24 week mark of an alcohol free sentence known to most as pregnancy. Whilst BYO and corkage are no longer of concern to BITO, it is testament to her spirit and commitment to the team that she has committed herself to the 2008 Beaufort Street challenge in the role of designated driver.

Even before eating for 2, BITO was a committed fan of various Beaufort Street establishments and did not have to be asked twice when contacted by the Brains with regards to the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge, stating only that there was no bloody way she was doing Jackson’s degustation menu sans alcohol.

Married to “The Sponge”, Bito is renowned in the team for her new found patience and tolerance of drunkards in her automobile.

The Sponge

Standing at the immodest height of 6 foot 4”, with size 14 feet, the Sponge has an appetite known to send many a kitchen into a flurry and a capacity for alcohol that has seen more than the odd sommelier rubbing his hands in delight.

Responsible for BITO’s current plight, the Sponge sees 2008 as the year he becomes a first time father yes, but more importantly, the year in which finally establishes himself as force to be reckoned within the Beaufort Street precinct.

When asked what unique attributes he thought he brought to the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge, the Sponge declared that whilst he preferred to think of himself as a bit of an “all rounder”, he did think his world class background in spaghetti marinara and a capacity to calculate corkage in the blink of an eyelid were going to prove invaluable to the team in the year ahead.